Max Restaurant

I’m sad that this wonderful restaurant is now closed. I’ve read about the Filipino chef in 2005 and have been dining here at least every few months. This is one of my husband and I’s favorite places to eat. The restaurant was small and intimate, they served my favorite champagne Veuve, and they never take dessert for granted. They have one of the best steaks I’ve had for a fraction of the cost and the most wonderful thing is they once had this tapioca pearl with coconut dessert which reminded me of my childhood… when I told my server this, Chef Guerrero looked at me and smiled, they gave me a bowl of it. Boooooooo so sad!

A friend of mine who used to live in southern California and i were talking about Filipino fine dining establishments, and how here needed to be more of them. Max Restaurant came up and I made sure I went the next time I was in southern California.
While I was there, I made it a point to savor the experience. I felt like a food tourist – I even had my camera with me.
I began with a specialty cocktail: a Cosmopolitan Blush – Ketel One Vodka, Triple Sec, Guava Juice, Cranberry Juice, and Lime Juice. Great start. I then asked for a water, to which Laura responded that they only had the .75L bottles of San Pellegrino Sparkling Natural Mineral Water. Under normal circumstances, I would not get that water. Like the food tourist I was emulating, I went for it, and learned the beauty of the water – it serves to clean your palate so that you can savor each bite of your food. It was a good lesson to learn.
For starters, I planned to order the House Smoked Salmon Tartare, described as House Smoked Salmon, Ikura, Yuzu Cream Cheese, Chopped Egg, Herb Salad, and Croustades. Well, when my server, Laura, came out, she mentioned a dish of Shrimp with Mango Glaze. She said mango – I said yes. I was so impressed by the description of the food that I did not have a chance to write it down. Yet as impressed as I was with the description, the taste was so much better!
I had finished the Cosmopolitan Blush so I ordered a Yuzu Saketini. Did he just say «Sake-​tini»? I sure did. It was chilled Shoju Sake, Yuzu Lime Juice, and a Dash of Simple Syrup. Just the right mix of Asian fusion.
I moved on to my entrée, which was the Applewood Smoked Baby Back Ribs Glazed in Tamarind-​Guava Sauce, served with Sweet Corn, Squash, Edamame, and Succotash. I chose a side of asparagus and, of course, I had to get sticky rice, for the win. It sure was a winner.
I had gotten another saketini halfway through the entrée and was ready for dessert. It was an easy choice – Pear and Candied Squash Halo Halo, which the chef describes as «Filipino sundae with vanilla bean ice cream, caramel flan, coconut milk, classic halo halo jellies, and sweet nuts.» This was the best halo halo I had ever had – EVER. They did not skimp either. It was a good size. It was fulfilling.
By the time I had finished it was 8:30 p.m. The entire time I had great conversation with the people who sat at the adjacent table. The first individual was a retired teacher. He was in a hurry so we did not talk that much, although it was easy for me to compliment an individual that had devoted their whole career toward educating youth. Then a pair of women sat at the table, Monica and Tamara. The former was a reference librarian and the latter a financial advisor. They were so nice they even shared some of their pickled vegetables with me. We talked about education, government, finances, and relationships. I even got an investment tip. I took pictures of my food – they chuckled at my delight.
Another cool part was that the host, Toby, was from northern California. He graduated from Nevada Union High School and had worked for the Paragary Restaurant Group before relocating to southern California five years ago.
All the great company still was not enough to outshine the masterpieces of Owner and Chef Andre Guerrero. Born in the Philippines, he is the one behind all the Filipino-​fusion foods. I have been talking about Max Restaurant for three weeks now and describe the selection as a mixture of Filipino foods with European flair (Pear and Candied Squash Halo Halo) and European foods with Filipino flair (Applewood Smoked Baby Back Ribs Glazed in Tamarind-​Guava Sauce).

Goodbye MAX, I will miss you. It was good times while it lasted.
I’ll miss the black cod, porkbelly, pumpkin risotto, halo-​halo and much more.
R.I.P. MAX

MMMMMMMMmmmmmmm…
Had the Ramos Fizz cocktail and the Max Angus burger and was in pure heaven. Sooooo freakin’ delicious. My man took me here and we sat up in a little boothy area that was really tight quarters (you could not fit up there if you were at all overweight or ‘big-​boneded’) but romantic. He had steak and enjoyed it a lot as well.
I will be back whenever I feel like dropping $ 17 on the best burger of my life!!!
YUM!

Max was good, flavor-​wise, but by no means a standout. Kitchen seemed confused & the staff, while nice, were not reason enough to return.
Lamb Tacos were somewhat drab, fat sliders stuffed in mushy pita bread triangles with good Tzatziki sauce. Roasted beet salad with goat cheese was memorable but the wait between appetizers and entrees was almost a full hour, so our party of 4 remembered THAT much more than the salads.
Hangar steak was a well prepared if small portion. The accompanying cauliflower with breadcrumbs, a marginal side dish at best. Potato/​Gorgonzola gratin, though ordered, never found its way to our table. Too bad, as that might have gone nicely with my steak & our friends other dishes.
With our dining partners, we cut a pretty wide swath through the menu looking for something great, but the only real excellence came in the form of a perfectly prepared apple galette with vanilla bean ice cream and the brownie bread pudding dessert.
My advice: skip the appetizers & entrees entirely and go just for dessert. A bit disappointing overall.

3.5 Stars to be exact. Its simple– This place has DELISH food… but our server was kind of slow and our food took forever. Which is why its not getting a higher rating from me. We ordered their Max’s blend of Tea which is AMAZING. I actually chose to drink tea not wine which is HUGe so it must be good…
Had Ahi Tuna appy… delish.
My entrée was the market salad. The list of ingredients was huge and it was on the board as their salad of the day so i figured it would be at least enough lettuce to fill my fork a few times. It was quite a let down. Delish mix of stuff but SUCH A SMALL SERVING. Some of us girls like to have a salad as our main course, this is not an option here. It was literally a tiny plate with salad. Lettuce is practically free, so they should just pile a lot more leaf under all the deliciousness on top and at least give me a decent amount of roughage. Is that how you spell it? haha
Husband got the burger which was FREAKIN INCREDIBLE. I basically ate half his burger after my salad let down.
Our particular waiter was nice but didnt give us enough attention and took way to long to push that kobe burger through the system. It didnt come out til at least 30 to 40 mins after we ordered it. And the table next to us got theirs pretty fast. Oh well. I will definitely be going back… probably on a tuesday or wednesday though since its a little pricey so you gotta take the deals when you can get them.
Go here!

Oh geez, was I at the same restaurant my friend recommended? Well I guess it doesn’t count since the last time he dined here was 2 years ago!
We came here during the DineLA week. The 3 of us ordered the scallop dish. It was sooo salty we had to send it back to the kitchen. It was still salty the second time around but we just ate it.
The dessert was okay — some kind of apple crisp with vanilla ice cream.
The service was very amateur. They didn’t know what they were doing. The manager, bus boy, and waitress were all clueless. I won’t be coming here again! We came here on a Sunday night. It seems like another Unilocaler came on Tuesday night and ordered the same dishes we did and enjoyed it. It was Super Bowl Sunday so maybe the good workers were out that day.

I like this place, but I don’t understand the hype. It isn’t the best thing ever, but it isn’t the worst thing ever, either. It’s probably 3.5 stars in my book. It is probably better than most restaurants on this strip. Don’t come here expecting to be dazzled, and you will do alright. If you are a looking for a cozy place for a cup of coffee after dinner, this may hit the spot. The food though. it’s alright.

Dine LA Review…
I ordered the Price Fix menu which consisted of salad, scallops and apple crisp a la mode. Everything was ok. The salad had fruits and nuts with delicious greens that I keep forgetting the name of. I got 3 scallops and mashed potatoes which was nothing too fancy. The apple crisp a la mode was good because of the vanilla bean ice cream. I ordered fried oysters on the side and when I bit into it the hot oil burned my tongue.
The ambiance was excellent though and the $ 14 glass of cab was good.

The Chef at Max must be commended! He has done a wonderful job of renovating his restaurant inside & out! It was always fantastic, but not only is the ambiance wonderful, there is Not a single dish in the house that you could go wrong with! I repeatedly have a Black Cod dish that me and more than 10 of my friends constantly talk about! The burgers, short ribs, appetizers are all to die for!
He took a couple of things off the old max menu (lumpia & butterscotch pudding) which I really miss and I Love everything about MAX!
Way to Go!

I had one of the best dining experiences of my life at Max’s. I went to Max’s last year with two friends for Valentine’s Day… because what better way to celebrate than to stuff your face (and then drown your sorrows with cocktails). Since it was Valentine’s Day they had a 5 course menu for the night.
Appetizer: Some sort of smoked salmon quesadilla thing. I can’t remember exactly what was in it or what it was called but it was really good.
Soup: Vegetable soup with a deep cried cheese ball thing in the middle (clearly I’m no food critic so I can’t identify everything… so bear with me). Yummy.
Salad: The salad dressing was kinda weird. It had a very pungent cheese so I couldn’t really eat more than a few bites.
Main Dish: They had a few things to choose from. I got the fish dish (heh I rhymed). It was white fish with a side of green beans and gnocchi in some sort of sauce. The gnocchi was SO good. It was like little fluffy pillows of joy… mmmmmmm. Did i mention that it was SO good?
Dessert: Strawberry soup. Basically a strawberry purée with cream and heart shaped sprinkles. Mmm can’t go wrong with strawberries! Also a sugar cookie!
Basically it gets 5 stars for the delicious food, great service, and for making me feel less bitter on V-​day! Hurray!

Went here last night for the dineLA pre-​fixe. Food was very tasty! I don’t think you can go wrong with any of the dishes here… we got quite a sampling — market salad, shrimp appetizer, seared scallops, shortribs, apple gallete and flourless chocolate cake for dessert.
We weren’t disappointed with the TASTE of any of the dishes; however, portions are quite small. My boyfriend got 3 scallops for his entrée. They were tasty, fresh, and plump, but only 3 for a grown man! It forced greedy old me to share more of my spareribs with him… so minus one star for that.
Lastly, we thought we would get «a deal» with the dineLA pre-​fixe, but we saved maybe 8 bucks between the two of us. Not a HUGE deal… but oh well. Glad to know about this gem in the valley… oh yeah and it’s still a fancy spot, I wouldn’t say its a «family» restaurant by any means (at least not for dinner!)

Max underwent a major overhaul since the last time we were here ~ it is now much more «democratic» in both décor and prices.
The interior used to be a trendy white space, filled with stylish hipsters savoring expensive gourmet dinner fare.
Now, kid-​friendly yellow walls encompass a casual family crowd, while prices are substantially lower, and they’re open for lunch.
Yes, the new bargain prices will no doubt bring Max more business, and the food is still delicious. But… something is missing. The intimate atmosphere is now gone from one of our favorite date spots, and the sauce over my Miso Cod didn’t seem to taste as exquisite as it did before.
I wish Max Restaurant the best, but if they weather this economic crisis I’d like to believe that the snooty Max of old will make a comeback. There just aren’t enough elegant, kid-​free date spots in the Valley (and as a mother myself, I have the experience & right to say this)

I knew the owner of the Oinkster also had a restaurant called «Max,» and since I’d heard he was filipino, I’d always assumed it was Max’s chicken in Glendale.
My bad.
With that confusion out of the way, I came here on a date and had a great night. I was able to score a reservation using OpenTable, which was a cinch, even after I had to change the time. I left a comment on my reservation asking for as private a table as possible, and though most of the restaurant is pretty crowded, as soon as we entered, the hostess led us to a little nook for three tables, partially closed off from the rest of the restaurant. I don’t know whether that was because of the comment I left, or just dumb, unbridled luck, but it was the beginning of a really fantastic dinner.
We started with the shrimp firecracker, which was decent, though slightly awkward to eat. Then my date had the cod and I had the salmon. Both were terrific.
If there were a Wikipedia entry for «classy service,» it would include this as an illustration: at one point during dinner, in the relative privacy of our table, my date and I were getting pretty cozy. Our server came in just in time to see me playing with her hair. Without a sound, he slipped back out of view. (incidentally, that would also be in the Wiki entry for «How To Earn A Fat Tip»).
We had some kind of chocolate soufflé for dessert which was as cute as it was delicious, and this mind-​blowing tea called the Max Blend. Get that.
Oh yeah, we got a couple glasses of pinot noir, too… but I swear they did nothing to color this review.
Overall, I had a great experience here. I was in such a good mood when I left, I didn’t even mind the cheap valets who charge $ 3.50, then ask if it’s OK not to give you $.50 back so you end up tipping them $ 1.50.
I had a lot nicer things on my mind — and in my belly — as I drove off.

Max is great and I was at the same dinner with Maybeth so refer to her more detailed review about the dishes we took down. Everything was excellent including the food, service and pricing. The lamb tacos were just as good as I imagined they would be. I will definitely be back.

We just went this Saturday to celebrate my new job.
It was nice, but I can’t give it 5 stars.
We walked right in and got a very nice table. They then let us move to a NICER table wen it opened up. The staff is courteous and obviously happy, and I like happy staff-​it means they take pride in good service.
They respected my wishes to eat a crapload of bread. It was good bread. I eat bread maybe once a week, and then I go nuts. I still finish my dinner. Well, usually.
We ordered the Lamb «tacos», the pork buns to start, and then the angus burger medium rare for him and the monkfish and risotto special for me.
I like the beer list, it’s a nice start with s good small selection. I do wish Andre G. would get some of the fine local artisan beers in house. Maybe telegraph or Lighthouse, Craftsman, the Bruery and such. I had a great Lindeman’s Pomme.
The lamb tacos came as little lamb meatballs in triangles of pita, very succulent and nicely spiced. The pork buns were amazing-​pork belly strips in an asian hoisin like sauce inside those buns you see for peking duck. The hoisin was just a little too much, but the perfectly cooked pork did it’s best at holding its own.
Chef Andre came out to say hello, as my husband is a beer judge/​brewer/​geek/​expert, and he was a fabulously nice guy. He looked a little rough around the edges, one of his sous chefs was «gone» he said.
My husband loved his burger. It was a bit too well-​done, but very juicy and nice. The fries came with a flavored ketchup and mayo to dip and were pretty good.
Sadly, the monkfish was a miss. It just was not a good dish. the fish was overdone, and not seasoned. The risotto was either overcooked, or had been left to sit too long-​gummy and not nice. The sauce tasted like someone had tossed in dried seasonings at the very last minute-​no depth of flavor-​no «umame», as they say. I haven’t sent a dish back in over 9 years, but this one went back. It just was not well done at all.
Our waitress was genuinely sorry, and offered me something else or a dessert. My husband was already done, and I saw no point. I do wish it had worked well; I love monkfish.
For all we ate, I think it was around $ 53.00, before tax and tip. My beer was slightly overpriced at $ 11.00 (Lindeman’s Pomme is an import, but it ain’t hard to find nor that expensive elsewhere) The monkfish was taken off of our bill-​they were really nice about it, and kept offering me something else.
All in all, it was a nice evening with just a few missteps.
I think I’ll try again sometime later, and maybe avoid fish dishes.
I heard the pork chop special that night was superb, but someone next to us told me her salmon was super-​salty.

Max Restaurant in Sherman Oaks recently reopened. I have to say I loved the original Max «version 1.0. It was so crisp and clean looking with all the linen and stark white décor. It’s also just up the street from my house, which made it the choice for nearby special occasion dining. Once or twice a year we would dress up a little bit and head to Max for Chef Andre Guerrero’s tasty Asian inspired cuisine. I especially loved his shrimp and pork Lumpia rolls and Foie Gras with quince purée.
So last night I was a little nervous as my husband and I headed to «the New Max» for dinner. I had read that the décor was completely redone and the menu had much «lower price points». Did that mean lower quality food? Or smaller portions? Well, No and No!
Dinner was simply scrumptious! We started with the «Daily Pickle»… PEACHES. Yup… pickled peaches… and pickled okra, pickled beans and crunchy carrots. Nice, tart flavors to get your mouth watering. The Shrimp Firecrackers we ordered were skewered and served with a cilantro mint sauce. No traditional Lumpia on the current menu, but these were just as good. ENTREES: I had the Szechuan Peppercorn Salmon with yuzu lime, tomatoes and broccoli. I love hot and spicy and at first didn’t feel any heat on my tongue. Then suddenly it was there, at the back of my throat. Fiery goodness for sure. My husband Peter had the Max Angus Burger. It was seriously one of the most delicious looking (and tasting) burgers ever and was topped with classic thousand island dressing, arugula, heirloom tomato, cambazola cheese, pickles, caramelized onions and a side of belgian fries. He didn’t even want to share with me (we usually switch plates after eating half), but I did get a couple small bites that melted in my mouth. It was so moist and tender that I really didn’t even need to chew the beef! DESSERT: Oh the clean, fresh taste of Halo Halo… it’s just such a refreshing dessert after eating a rich and spicy dinner. Pear and candied squash with vanilla bean ice cream, caramel flan, coconut milk, jellies and nuts over crushed ice.
So what do I think about the «new Max»? It’s definitely no longer JUST a «special occasion» restaurant… which is a good thing, because it means we will be going more than once or twice a year. Probably once or twice a month (or more!) PHOTOS on

The thing was the tenderest burger I’ve ever had. Bites just jumped off the patty on contact with my lips and proceeded to dive down my throat. It’s almost like the burger did most of the work.
Max is an over-​achiever. The fries? They were double fried. And the ketchup? Homemade from scratch. I was half-​expecting the receipt to be printed on hand-​pressed papyrus. If it was, I would have eaten it.

Dropped in last night to check this place out. Very classy joint.
They sat us right away, despite the lack of reservation. Interior is nice with interesting textures as design elements.
After seeing some snooty waiter warnings on Unilocal,I was apprehensive going in. Fortunately, as soon as our waiter started singing with a strong Greek accent while asking what we wanted to drink, I knew we had come to the right place.
Though it’s obviously an upscale restaurant, I felt at ease despite my usual feeling of discomfort at hoity toity places. I suppose that singing waiters make me relax like nobody’s business. Go figure.
The dry gin martini was well balanced and classically prepared. This is kind of a big deal because I’m big on the vintage original martini thing, and typically only like my own concoctions. My special lady friend had a cosmo and was equally pleased with it.
Some fresh, warm, crusty bread came out with our drinks and was devoured instantly. Yum.
Since we were just there to check the place out, we only ordered one appetizer: The «Ahi Tower». This was a griled rice ball with some crazy stuff on it + a strip of seared ahi topped with threadlike strands of nori on a plate adorned with some kind of wasabi crazy sauce. I could probably eat 30 of these things they’re so good.
The staff was so accommodating, we felt like we could’ve stayed there til they closed. As it was, we picked up and split after the appetizer with serious plans to return for a proper full meal ASAP.
Hooray for Max!

The food here is AMAZING. Went with one of my favorite foodie friends for dineLA Restaurant Week and to celebrate her bday, and we just could NOT stop oohing and aahing about every dish we sampled.
My friend got the roasted vegetable soup with basil pesto and goat cheese. The flavors of the soup were both rich and subtle at the same time, and the lightly fried goat cheese ball was a nice touch in terms of complementary flavor as well as texture. She also got the beef shortribs with mashed potato and horseradish, and the meat was SO tender it just fell off the bones. The sauce was warm and oh so comforting, and the horseradish wasn’t overpowering as horseradish can often be, but rather just complemented and brought out the other flavors very nicely.
I got the miso marinated black cod, and it was PERFECTLY cooked in terms of texture. The flavor of the broth, as well as the accompanying mushrooms and vegetables was brilliant.
We also tried the flourless chocolate cake with crème fraîche and raspberries — another wonderful combination.
Last but CERTAINLY not least was their Max Blend tea (roobios tea with mint, vanilla and chocolate flavors), which BLEW our minds. All the aromas of the flavors drift delightfully into your nose as you are sipping the tea, and it is just unlike anything we’d ever had. We kept saying it was the perfect healthy dessert. You don’t have to even order a calorie-​filled cake… you could drink this and feel like you’ve just had the most wonderful guilt-​free dessert ever. We loved it so much, we asked if we could buy the tea leaf blend from them directly! Our waiter said no, we couldn’t, but was kind enough to find out the information of their source so we could order it ourselves (though it might come in 10 lb bags for all we know!).
I dock one star for the following reasons:
— Seating is tight, though the ambiance is nice. We almost got seated at a table along the wall where we would’ve sat side-​by-​side, which we found awkward. Thankfully we got reseated into a corner area where we could face each other.
— It is pricey; great for special occasions or good deals like dineLA, but not somewhere the Average Joe can go on any ol’ night unless you’re just a free spender like that.
— We found our waiter, while very attentive and friendly, to be rather quirky. He’d often say random things in response to us that left us looking at each other with the most puzzled expressions, saying, «What did he just say? Did he just say, ‘We are the world, we are the children’ for no good reason?» (I kid you not!)
In any case, I thought this restaurant was GREAT and will definitely come back for another birthday or special outing!